Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Qatar’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani, held talks Sunday in Doha on cooperation and regional developments. Safadi and Sheikh Mohammed discussed ways to expand cooperation in the economic and investment fields, increase trade exchange and activate the joint investment fund that the two countries agreed to establish in 2009 at a value of $2 billion. They agreed to convene the Joint Higher Committee before the end of 2023 and to sign agreements that strengthen the legislative frameworks to increase cooperation in investment. Safadi affirmed Jordan’s appreciation for QaQat’s support to the Jordanians, who numbered 70,000, after about 15,000 Jordanians started working in Qatar in the context Sheikh Tamim Al Thani’s initiative to provide 20,000 job opportunities in 2018. EXchange between Jordan and Qatar increased from $163 million in 2021 to $2011 million in 2022, achieving a growth rate of about 29 per cent. The volume of trade exchange between the two countries in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to $58 million. The number of Qatari tourists also increased from 8,907 in 2021 to 14,241 in 2022, while Qatari investments amounted to about $2 billion. Safadi and Sheikh Mohammed discussed the continuation of the high level of coordination regarding Arab, regional and international issues. They discussed stopping the escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories, and achieving calm, a step towards re-launching negotiations to realise peace based on the two-state solution. They stressed the “need” to stop all illegal Israeli measures that would undermine the two-state solution. The top diplomats warned of the repercussions of the deterioration, the absence of political prospects and the economic pressures in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel’s continuation in building and expanding settlements, confiscating Palestinian lands and expelling Palestinians from their homes. Sheikh Mohammed discussed Jordan’s ‘historical” role in protecting sanctities in occupied Jerusalem. Safadi and Sheikh Mohammed stressed the “importance” of achieving Palestinian national reconciliation. Safadi noted Qatar’s role and support for Palestinians in Gaza and for the UNRWA. They stressed the need to implement the Amman Declaration, and to take “concrete” practical steps to address the consequences of the humanitarian, security and political crisis to end the crisis and the threats it produced to the security of the region, including drug smuggling. Safadi and Sheikh Mohammed discussed the efforts exerted to solve the Yemeni and Libyan crises, and to support stability in Lebanon. They stressed the importance of activating joint Arab action in efforts to resolve regional crises and advance Arab and Islamic interests.

Source: Jordan News Agency